Friday, March 16, 2012

Perhaps you’re wondering why so many marketing professionals are focusing heavily on the new social network.

In this article, I sit down with Guy Kawasaki, the original Macintosh evangelist. You’ll discover why 99% of his efforts are now focused on Google+.

Guy reveals his Google+ strategy and talks about his new book, What the Plus! Google+ for the Rest of Us. And it’s very different than his other books. It revealsextensive details about how to benefit from Google+.

Mike: Guy, why should businesses consider Google+? What are the major advantages?

Guy: Businesses should jump on Google+ because it’s the Wild West, so you canstake your claim, as opposed to breaking through the noise on Twitter and Facebook.

Also, Google owns the river called search traffic. It can point this river any way that it wants.

When Google introduced the concept of “social search,” it turned SEO upside down.Now when people search on Google, they see the actions of their friends on Google+. That’s huge.

Here’s an example of social search (note the little avatar of a person’s head indicating a social search result)

It means 1) you want people to circle you so that when they search, they see your posts and 2) you should post about what you want your followers to know you for.

If I were running a business, I would be thinking, “Why wait until I have to buy real estate in Manhattan? I should get in now and grab all of the followers I can before Google+ hits the mainstream.”

Mike: You have been a huge proponent of Twitter for some time, and later Facebook. Where does Google+ fit in for you with the other social networks and why?

Guy: I fell in love with Google+ because of the ability to edit posts, the more elegant user interface and the quality of comments.

Today, 99% of my social media effort is on Google+.

Admittedly, this might not be rational or optimal, but when is love rational or optimal?

In many ways, Google+ was like the second coming of Macintosh for me. It was that profound a discovery for me.

I’ve only written two product-oriented books, 25 years apart: The Macintosh Way andWhat the Plus! What does that tell you?

Mike:What the Plus! seems very different from your previous books. Can you explain why you wrote the book, who it is for and what makes it unique from the others that are out there?

Guy: I wrote What the Plus! Google+ for the Rest of Us because it pains me that people aren’t “getting” Google+.

I think it’s a better social networking platform than the competition—just like Macintosh was better than other operating systems.

I can’t stand it when people aren’t using the best tool, especially when they’re taking the advice of so-called experts. I fought the same kind of “expert” advice with Macintosh during the 80s.

I kind of enjoy this sort of fight. Actually, I’ve made a career of it. Google+ is my latest “cause.”

I self-published because I wanted to hit a low price point—”less than a Starbucks grande latte” to be exact—and I wanted total flexibility to do any kind of licensing, sponsoring and whatever-strikes-my-fancy deals.

For example, Samsung is sponsoring 6,000 copies. Can you imagine trying to get that through a traditional publisher? Tim Cook (current Apple CEO) will retire before that will happen.

Also, Google says that it introduces one new feature a day, so I have to be able to revise this book all the time.

Plus, do the math. I make 70% of $2.99 on an ebook, so about $2. I have to sell two copies of What the Plus! to make about the same amount on one copy ofEnchantment. I think it’s easier to sell two copies of What the Plus! than one copy ofEnchantment. And the time to market from the time I finished the book was less than a week.

Ebook self-publishing is very compelling if—and it’s a big if—the author can also market the book. I can let you know in a few months how this experiment has worked out, but it sure is fun.

Mike: Should businesses focus on their personal profile or company pages when it comes to Google+ and why?

Guy: This is a tough question.

The answer is clearest when the entity is a sole proprietorship or individual brand.

If the entity is likely to live longer than the person, then it should be a company page.

But a good company page should act like a living, breathing person, not some hoity-toity “brand.”

I have found it difficult to maintain more than one presence on Google+. It’s like trying to keep two Macintoshes current, happy and up to date… if you know what I mean.

Mike: Can you share some tips that businesses should consider when setting up a Google+ account?

Guy: Sure.

Tip #1 I just mentioned: Make sure that people feel like they’re interacting with a person, even if your Google+ page represents a company.

Imagine, for example, if when you called your friend on her cell phone, she had a voicemail tree that you had to step through: “For English, press 1. For Spanish, press 2. If this is a call about a date, press 3. If you are canceling a date, press 4.”

Tip #2 is to adopt what I call the NPR model. NPR provides great content 365 days a year. The content is so great that we tolerate the telethons and fundraisers.

The content you share on Google+ should provide value: information, analysis and assistance. Your content should be so great that you earn the right also to promote your product or service every once in a while, like 5% of the time.

For example, if I were running VirginAmerica’s Google+ page, I would be constantly posting pictures of the cities that we serve, food from those cities and celebrations from those cities.

I would link to Real Simple when I ran a story about how to pack properly. I would link to a Lonely Planet article about the ten best outdoor adventures in south Florida. I would link to Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods coverage of food in Texas. Maybe even when Mike Rowe has a “Dirty Job” in New York.

In other words, the content would be all about how to travel, whether for fun or business. Then because people circled our page to keep seeing all the good stuff, we would have earned the right to talk about our new routes and new fares.

If companies just do these two things, they’ll be fine.

Mike: Where can folks get a copy of your book?

Guy: The best place to start is WhatthePlus.com because this is where the special promotions and such will be provided.

But trust me when I tell you that my goal is to make bumping into What the Plus!unavoidable if you’re on Google+ in the next few weeks.

Mike: What’s next for Guy Kawasaki?

Guy: I have no idea. If I sell enough copies of What the Plus!, I’ll dedicate my life to my family and playing hockey. That’s all I really want to do.Source: SocialMediaExaminer.com

If you have not yet converted your Facebook fan page over to the new Timeline design, your page will automatically convert on March 30th,
2012 which is coming up fast. This post covers the majority of basic
settings and features you need to know. Even if you’ve upgraded, you’ll
find some tips here!
First, review this marked up screenshot for a tour of most of the features — click the image to view full size (you may need to click again on the image on the next page):

Facebook Timeline for Pages - Guide (click to see full size)

Cover image replaces default landing tab

One of the biggest feature changes that many businesses are upset about is the removal of a default landing tab.
That is, where you can create a custom landing page for non-fans using
an iFrame app, and add rich media, an opt-in box and/or a compelling
reason to join your fan page. In addition, many businesses made use of
the “like-gating” or “fan-gating” feature on these default custom
landing tabs where you could entice your fans to click the Like button and then reward them with a special benefit such as a coupon code, or unique content just for fans.
The good news is you can still have custom tabs, plus the like-gating element still functions. You just can’t set a default landing tab. However, each of your apps still has its own unique URL. That means you can
drive traffic to any “landing” page you wish – from within Facebook via
ads, your profile and other places as appropriate; and from outside
Facebook on your website/blog, other social profiles, tweets, email
campaigns, email signature files, and so forth.
With the new Timeline design, you’ll notice the generously large cover image at the top of your page.
You may find that you care less and less about a default landing tab
with this piece of prime real estate that is always visible to fans and
non-fans as they land on your page. The dimensions are 851 pixels wide
by 315 pixels high. It’s a wonderful place to showcase photographs and graphics pertaining to your brand/business.
Personally, I’m very excited about the cover image! The possibilities
are endless… even with the tight rules around what content cannot be placed on cover images (see key point #4 below).

21 Key Points To Know About Timeline for Pages

To keep you on track with the change, here’s a list of 21 key points about the new Timeline design:

1. Preview

You have a chance to preview
your page(s) first, made all the edits you wish, get it just the way
you want it, then publish. Look for the preview option at the top of
your page in the old design. Or, see a list of your pages here and turn on page preview mode. Before you publish, at minimum just have an attractive cover image loaded.

2. March 30

Your page will automatically convert on March 30. My advise is don’t wait.
There really is no strategic advantage to waiting … okay, maybe if you
have a really hot custom landing tab with a like-gating campaign that’s
going extremely well. Otherwise, go for the upgrade now and lead the way
by educating your fans on all the new features.

3. Cover Image

Dimensions for the large cover image is 851 x 315 pixels.
If you upload an image that’s smaller than these dimensions, it will
get stretched to this larger size. The image you upload must be at least
399 pixels wide. Facebook encourages you to change your cover image as
often as you wish. Newsflash: each time you change your cover image,
this posts on to your wall and goes out into the news feed of your fans.
You may find the activity itself doesn’t get great Edgerank (visibility
score in the news feed). So, what you can do is hide the activity on
your wall, then share the new cover image with a call to action in the textual area, e.g. We’re celebrating 10,000 fans today and just changed our cover image in honor of all of You! Click like if you like! (To
be clear, that message does *not* go ON your cover image itself. You’re
posting your cover image on your wall with the message as a
description.)

4. Image rules

Do not put contact info, calls to action, or arrows pointing to the Like or Share button on your cover image. See the Page Guidelines here.
Contact info should go in your about section. The no calls to action
rule is likely because Facebook has been very generous with this large
piece of real estate … however, the company does not want us to run hogwild with all manner of promotions and campaigns… for free! Those come at a price and are called Facebook ads! And the new Premium Ads and Reach Generator. And, the one I’m most excited about: Offers (that one is actually free to set up, though currently only available to large brands).

5. Profile picture

Your profile picture is always a square and is displayed at 125 x 125
pixels or 150 x 150 pixels, depending on the size of someone’s screen.
The photo you upload must be at least 180 x 180 pixels. Facebook
discourage page owners from changing their profile picture that often.
This is the primary, instantly-recognizable image that tracks you throughout Facebook wherever your posts go and wherever you comment as your Page.

6. Landing tab

You can no longer set a default landing tab. Make
good use of the cover image, instead (see #3 above) and the three main
apps (see #8 below). Plus, drive traffic to whichever tab you wish (see
#7 below).

7. App URLs

Custom apps all still function, including the fan-gating feature. Each tab/app still has a unique URL so you can drive traffic from inside or outside Facebook to any ‘landing page’ you wish.

8. Showcase apps

Just below your cover image, your ‘tabs’ are now displayed as apps or views.
You can have a max of 12, though only four are always on display. The
first one is always Photos and cannot be moved. ‘Views’ are Facebook’s
default apps or features such as Photos, Events, Likes, Notes, Map. Apps
are all third party apps.

9. Custom thumbnail

You can add a custom thumbnail image to all your apps. The dimensions are 111 x 74 pixels. These are great areas to get creative and add seamless branding, calls to action, and specials.
To add/change a custom thumbnail, first expand all apps by clicking the
small down arrow to the right of the four app display. Then hover over
any app > click the edit pencil > click Edit Settings > click
Change next to Custom Tab Image (opens in a new window) > click
Change > upload an image. Voila. The image loads and saves right away.
(I have noticed bugs with this feature and have often seen other pages’
thumbnails appear… you may need to upload a couple times to get your
image to stick!).
My Irish and Scottish friends across the pond have done a super job of their Timeline branding on Social Stars – the image below shows their creative use of the custom app thumbnails. But do check out their cover image, too. It’s one of my favorites!

Custom App Thumbnail Images on Social Stars UK Fan Page

10. Liked button

The like button now tuns to “liked” when clicked. Users can HOVER for options, including adding to an Interest List(s).
The Liked button is a great new feature as it visually informs fans
that they have already liked the page. However, the hover feature and
ability to add pages to Interest Lists is very new and really not
obvious at all. (See #11 and my next blog post!)

Facebook Liked Button - Options on Hover

11. Interest Lists

Encourage your fans and visitors to add you to an Interest List; let them know which topic is best, e.g. my Page
would be best added to a list called Facebook Tips, or Facebook
Marketing, or Social Media Marketing. (Interest Lists are brand new as
of March 8th. More on the new Interest Lists in an upcoming post!
Speaking of lists, please do subscribe to my popular Facebook Experts and Resources list, with 77 people and pages and currently over 800 subscribers.
Got Facebook questions? Come join my community of over 260,000 fans
and subscribers! Just click the Subscribe and Like buttons below to
connect with me on Facebook!

12. Milestones

You can go back in time to add business milestones on your Timeline. When you do, these will post at the right date, and go out into the news feed of your fans and create more visibility and engagement.
The full extent of the actual timeline element of the Timeline design
is geared toward what Facebook calls “Legacy Brands” – those brands with
historical data spanning decades that they’d like to feature.

13. Wall Filters

Page walls now have four filters: Highlights, Posts by Page, Posts by Others, and Friend Activity. There is no way to set the wall to be posts by everyone.
The default is always Highlights. In your page settings (Admin Panel
> Manage > Edit Page > Manage Permissions), you can choose to
not let anyone write on your wall, or to not display Posts by others.
However, I recommend that you leave the settings on to allow everyone to
write on your wall, everyone can add photos and videos, and show the
box for Recent Posts by Others.

14. Pin posts

Any post made by the Page can be pinned the top of the wall for up to 7 days.
I suggest rotating which posts are pinned and not letting any post sit
there for longer than 1-2 days. You never know how many repeat visitors
are coming to your Page and you want to keep it fresh for them.Enjoying this post? Tweet to let me know – just click the button
below (opens in a popup, you’ll have a chance to see and edit the
tweet!):

15. Highlight posts

Page admins can choose to display any post made by the Page or by others as ‘double wide’ – meaning the post spreads across both columns of the Timeline. Hover over a post and click the star icon to highlight.

16. Posts by others

Posts made by others (fans and non-fans) are in a small box at the top right called Recent Posts by Others.
You can scroll in this field without leaving your wall: first click
‘More Posts’ on the lower left of the box and use your mousewheel or the
vertical scroll bar. Or click ‘See All’ for a popup box. For viewing
and moderating, it’s easier to view these posts on the Posts by Others
wall filter, though, as mentioned in #13 above.

17. Default wall

You cannot set a default wall view – it’s always Highlights. I’m
seeing a few disappointed page owners talk about this. I tend to agree –
the new Timeline for Pages design seems to really favor brands
and businesses showcasing themselves vs. making it community-focused. However, with creative use of your cover image
and changing it regularly, I believe you can build a wonderful culture
of mutual respect between you and your fans. (I’m working on a strategy
just now to change up my fan page cover image every 1-3 days; I’m
experimenting with montages of featured fans which has been received
very well by my Facebook community).

Mari Smith - Facebook Page - Montage of Fans

18. Personalization

Page Timelines are personalized for each person viewing:
every page wall includes ‘friend activity’ at the top right where the
person viewing will see one post from the past from a friend (or a
Facebook user to whom the viewer has subscribed). Frankly, I think this
is a complete waste of valuable real estate and I’m already tiring of seeing old (no-longer-relevant) posts repeatedly
dredged up when viewing my own page and/or other pages while logged in
as my profile. I hope, on the next feature overhaul, that Facebook
removes this section and replaces with something more valuable – or
enlarges the Posts by others area! That’s my $0.02!
In addition to the one post displayed at the top right of the wall,
any Admin or visitor to your page can view your Timeline wall via the
‘Friend Activity’ filter mentioned in #13 above.

19. Adjust photos

You can now reposition photos shared by you or others on your page: hover and click the edit pencil, then click Reposition photo, then drag the image where you want it, and click Save.

20. Messages

Fans and visitors can now private Message fan admins – you can turn this feature off in your settings but it might be a good idea to leave it on to encourage connection from prospects!
You cannot initiate messages as your page; you can only communicate via
Messages when someone contacts you first. The one drawback of yet
another method of communication is that you may need to add more
community managers to deal with the increase in emails. You’d be
surprised at how many people start to contact you via your page!

21. Admin Panel

It takes several more clicks to get to the various settings of your Page now. You may have to dig deep to find features that were once just one click away.
For example, to view your Hidden Posts (posts flagged as spam by
Facebook that are only visible to Page Admins, to the person/page who
made the post, and to friends of that person) – previously it was ONE
click on the Hidden Posts link under your Wall on the left. Now, it’s
FIVE clicks to get to the same place! Click Admin Panel > Manage >
Use Activity Log > All (upper right menu) > Spam. From there,
hover over the spam icon to the right of any post that is not spam, and
click Unmark as Spam.
So, those are 21 key points I’ve compiled. I’m sure there are many more to add – stay tuned for additional posts on the subject of the new Timeline for both Pages and personal Profiles. Meantime, here are even more tips and resources
to help you on this journey of mastering the latest round of Facebook
changes. (I hope your seatbelt is fastened; it’s been non-stop at
Facebook HQ for some time now what with the IPO.)

Customize Your Facebook Page – video tutorial

If you’re brand new to the Timeline design for Pages, this handy video by the Facebook team is well worth the 3.5 minute watch:

Facebook’s Page Guidelines and New Timeline Page Tutorial

Unlike many of Facebook’s past product launches and feature upgrades,
the company has outdone itself this time with the comprehensive range
of guidance for the Timeline design for pages. The following resources
are all from Facebook:

Plus, for even more guidance, go to www.LearnFacebookPages.com
for an interactive course – this is brought to you by Facebook and is
very well done! You may need to temporarily disable popup blockers for
the course to start.

You made it down here! Good news – when you convert your page to the
new Timeline design, you won’t lose anything. Well, that is, unless
you’re a local business with a Place Page, in which case you will lose your Recommendations, for now. I understand they are coming back in the next week or two. Last week I did see that anyone could still write
a Recommendation for your business and post to their personal profile
to share with their friends – the popup shows upon clicking the Like
button. However, I’m not seeing that popup option any more. Plus, the
new Timeline design of Place Pages currently has nowhere to display these Recommendations. At least not that I could find. So, it seems Facebook is working on this feature.
Phew, so there you have it!! This turned into a monster blog post, even though I kept saving more in-depth discussion for SO many of these new features – and new optimization strategies – for future posts. Let me know if you found this helpful in the comments below. Is there anything missing? Where are you feeling most stuck?

Facebook 2012 Fan Page Checklist

To download my 14-page Facebook 2012 Fan Page Checklist, just pop your name and email below and I’ll give you instant access to this popular document (over 17,900 downloads!). The
checklist part is the first five pages; the rest is all endnotes
explaining the elements of your page and how best to set up and optimize
for marketing and engagement.
This version is hot off the presses, and includes all the latest Facebook Timeline featuresSource: MariSmith.com

Monday, March 12, 2012

Since the introduction of Google+, Google has been redefining how it can provide more relevant search results.
Recently Google introduced Search, Plus Your World, something I’ll call Google social search.
This new enhancement has made it essential to have a Google+ profile and/or Google+ business page.
Why? Google is highlighting Google+ content in search results.
This article will share three tips you need to know to benefit from Google social search.
By the way, if you haven’t already done so, create a Google+ page for your business. Fill out all the sections with images and top focus keywords you want to rank for in search.
Once the page is created, engage with people and other businesses, share great content and post publicly every day.

What Is Google Social Search?

When
logged into Google+ and searching on Google, Google social search
defaults to Show Personal Results. Google has always shown personalized
results based on browsing history and location. Now content that’s been shared with you through the Google+ social network is incorporated into results.
You’ll know that personalized results are appearing when you see the signs below:

The Google personalized results are identified by the highlighted areas.

The
box on the top left points to a message that, in this example, says
that there are “60 personal results and 5,810,000 other results” that
have been found. Some of the 60 personal results will be blended into
the first page shown. Personal results are identified by the blue
person icon in the left hand margin as shown above.
The box on the top right indicates that personal results are being displayed. You can select the globe or public icon on the right to switch to non-personalized results.

When I search "social media," the personal result count is highlighted as a link.

Clicking on the “170 personal results” link as shown above, switches the results page to only display the personal results.
Google’s
aim is to provide hyper-personalized—and therefore more
relevant—results to users. Within public search results, weighted social
search signals may come into play, corresponding with the growth of the
+1 button.
People and pages you have circled are likely to show in Google social search results, so it’s important to build your audience on Google+.
Another way to catch the eye of Google users is to appear in Google’s
Related People and Pages based on the user’s search query.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Get Circled With Related People and Pages

Promoting your Google+ page is important to grow reach and build a large following. To appear prominently in Google social search, you need to be circled already or market yourself to be circled.One of the best ways to expand the number of users who have circled you is by appearing in Google’s Related People and Pages.
Google says to appear in Related People and Pages, all you need to do is:

fill out your profile,

post about your favorite topics and

appear in search results.

Keywords for Related People and Pages on Google+ are highlighted within the Google+ profiles.

According to Ian Lurie,
“Google’s far more likely to show a plus box for broad concepts with
low commercial intent versus niche terms with high commercial intent.”
You can test this by searching social media versus social media for nonprofits or fashion versus women’s clothing.
In his Google Plus Box Ranking Factors Report,
Lurie examines the different Plus Box ranking factors and concludes
that reach and follower count are very important. The number of +1s
matter, in addition to the frequency of updates. In his study, pages or people who haven’t posted within 72 hours did not appear in the Google Plus Box.
Google will continue to adjust the Google social search algorithm, as well as the Plus Box results. However, “it now matters who has you in their social circles, and who has THEM in their social circles,” states Chris Brogan.

2. Build Authority: It Matters

Due to Google’s emphasis on +1s and reach, it’s important to build your company as an authority in your industry. As with all of your work, focus on gaining the attention of people on Google+ with quality content.
The +1 has a lot of power, so create good content and post regularly
to encourage users to +1 your material. Google will see the signal from
other Google+ users that you are a quality and relevant business. You
may see a boost in your ranking due to your efforts.Use keywords relevant to your industry and expertise on your Google+ page.
The description for your page in the Google Plus Box can be pulled from
a number of sources, ranging from page posts to the introduction as
shown below.

The phrase "social media" is found within the introduction, tagline, occupation or posts.

3. Note: Secure Search Limits Analytics

While Google is providing this new opportunity for exposure, Google is also limiting something important to businesses.
Google rolled out Secure Search for signed-in Google users in November 2011 in preparation for Google’s social search. Danny Sullivaninterviewed
Amit Singal, who oversees Google’s ranking algorithms, and learned that
Google has been working on the encryption to protect personal results
for at least a year. If results for Google social search were not
secure, content that was shared on Google+ privately could be revealed
publicly within searches.
All Google social search results are
hidden behind https:// and no keywords will be linked to your search in
any analytics programs. Many users always remain logged into Google,
which limits the keyword data found in analytics software. Marketers have seen an increase in the excluded keyword data.

For
one company, 12.4% of total organic traffic data was encrypted in
November and rose to 16.9% in January when Google social search was
released.

The encryption that Secure Search provides means
that any private material mixed in with your regular results is
protected, seen only by your browser and Google. While a user’s privacy
is protected, marketers focused on organic data are losing valuable
information. Organic keyword data will be limited, so it may be harder to determine user intent based on search queries.What do you think? Are
your search results more relevant and has your business seen Google+
growth since the advent of Google social search? Please let me know your
experience so far and additional tips you would like to share! Leave
your questions and comments in the box below.
By Sarah Lokitis Source: SocialMediaExaminer.com